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Eluding Lyme Disease
By Monique Cole
The warm weather of summer brings kids out to play in
backyards, and outdoor enthusiasts to play in the woods. Unfortunately,
it also brings Lyme-disease-bearing ticks out to feed as well.
Despite scientists predicting a higher than ever number of cases
this summer in the Northeast, a new vaccine and other precautions
can help protect you and your kids.
Lyme disease is a multi-system inflammatory
illness that can be successfully treated with oral antibiotics
in its early stages. However, sometimes it escapes detection
until it has progressed to an advanced stage, causing symptoms
from arthritis to nervous system disorders such as numbness,
pain, and paralysis of facial muscles.
More and more people are falling victim
to the troublesome illness. Over 62,000 cases were reported to
the Centers for Disease Control from 1993 to 1997 and incidences
have increased 25-fold since 1982.
People who spend a lot of time outdoors
in wooded and grassy areas are most likely to contract the illness.
And cases of Lyme disease have been concentrated in the Northeast
from Massachusetts to Maryland, in the Northcentral states, especially
Wisconsin and Minnesota, and on the West Coast, particularly
Northern California.
Lyme disease is spread through the bite
of ticks infected with the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi. In
the Northeast, deer ticks, which feed on deer and mice, are responsible
for spreading the disease. The deer and mice feed on acorns,
and the combination of a two-year tick life cycle and a banner
acorn season two years ago has scientists predicting that this
summer will be a dangerous one for contracting the disease.
The new Lyme disease vaccine is encouraging
for people at high risk, but it can only be administered to those
ages 15-70. And it is only 80 percent effective, meaning one
out of five vaccinated individuals exposed to Lyme disease would
still contract the illness. The best defense continues to be
avoiding tick bites in the first place, and promptly removing
any ticks found on the body. Although it takes up to two days
of feeding for a tick to transmit the disease, those in the nymph
stage often go unnoticed because of their small size.
Prevention
- Avoid tick-infested areas, especially
in May, June, and July (contact your local health or parks department
for information on prime tick areas)
- Wear light-colored clothing for easier
tick detection
- Tuck pant legs into socks and shirts
into pants (you may even want place tape between the pant legs
and socks)
- Spray insect repellent containing DEET
on clothes and exposed skin (but never on your face or on young
children's skin)
- Hats and long-sleeved shirts offer
added protection
- Treat clothing with permethrin, which
kills ticks on contact
- Walk or bike on the center of trails
to avoid grass and brush, favorite tick hiding places
- Check body after each outing, especially
the groin, armpits, and scalp
Early Lyme Disease Symptoms and Signs
- Characteristic red circular "bull's
eye" rash appearing at the site of the tick bite three days
to one month later
- Fatigue
- Chills and fever
- Headache
- Muscle and joint pain
- Swollen lymph nodes
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